


The Greatest Gift

by CosmoKid



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, Crying, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-18 19:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18125402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmoKid/pseuds/CosmoKid
Summary: For prompt: "Believe in the me that believes in you"Or five times Sinclair supports Raven and the one time she supports him





	The Greatest Gift

**Author's Note:**

> i kinda cried writing this....
> 
>  
> 
> also like i have no idea if this is a realistic father-daughter relationship because lol who gets that ashfhsdh

1.  
“I can’t do this,” she says, her voice wavering as she stares down at the paper in her hand. She’s shaking like a leaf, her heart pounding in her ears. She’s breathing too fast.

“Raven,” Sinclair says softly. She watches his hand reach out to touch her arm. “You can do this, I know you can.”

She shakes her head desperately. “I can’t, Sinclair, I _can’t_.”

“There’s nothing you can’t do, Raven, trust me,” Sinclair says, raising his eyebrows at her. “What happened to the little girl I met who told me there was nothing she couldn’t do? The one who told me that she’d make the world bend to her will? When did she disappear?”

“She was six-years-old and still believed in Santa!” 

“That doesn’t mean anything, I believed in her back then and I believe in her now,” he says, holding onto her arm with the other hand as well. “This is the girl who’s been reading at college level since she could read, the girl who taught herself how to code, the girl who’s been correcting a qualified engineer who works for goddamn NASA for years, the girl who’s improved designs used for NASA since she was nine-years-old. Now, you’re telling me this girl can’t give a presentation?"

She stares at him, a calculating look in her eyes. He’s right, she knows he is and the genuine pride in his voice makes her heart swell. She takes a deep breath, “But this isn’t science, Sinclair. This is Art, logic goes out the window when it comes to this.”

“Traditional logic goes out of the window,” he corrects, rolling his eyes when she just huffs. “Turn the presentation into a problem to solve, Raven. Take it part by part like you would with an engine. Turn it into something you know.”

“I only have two hours to do it though,” she says, frowning. It’s solid advice, she has to admit that.

“When has a time limit ever stopped you before?” Sinclair asks, raising his eyebrows and grinning at her. “You’re Raven goddamn Reyes.”

 

2.  
She slams the door, kicking her trainers off as she resists the urge to scream.

“Raven,” Sinclair’s voice floats through the house, soon followed by soft footsteps. “Your curfew was two hours ago.”

“Fuck off,” she bites out just as he comes into view, tears threatening at her eyes. She shouldn’t take it out on him, but she’s just so angry.

She expects to be yelled at, almost wishes he would yell, but instead, he just frowns. “Raven, honey, are you okay?”

“No,” she manages to croak out before the first sob wracks through her body. She stomps her foot, she _hates_ crying.

“Hey, hey,” Sinclair says softly and then his arms are enveloping her into a warm hug. She collapses into him, holding onto him desperately as more tears stream down her face. “It’s okay, honey, it's okay. Just let it out, let it all out. It’s okay.”

They stay like that for a few minutes before she pulls away and rubs at her eyes. She hasn’t cried this much in years.

“What happened?” he asks in a whisper. “If you’re okay with talking about it.”

“Finn,” she says, her voice shaking. She swallows and takes a deep breath. “He, he uh… he cheated on me, Sinclair. He cheated on me with Clarke freaking Griffin.”

“Oh honey,” he says, rubbing small circles in her arm. “He doesn’t deserve you, not if he doesn’t see what’s right in front of him.”

When she opens her mouth to speak, she plans to agree, say something snarky, but instead, she lets out another sob. “Why aren’t I enough? What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong with you,” he says firmly, pulling her into another hug. She melts into it, sniffling. “He’s just an idiot who’ll regret it. You’re enough, you’ve always been enough, I promise... And Raven, you’re fifteen, there are a lot more boys out there. It’s not the end of the world, trust me.”

 

3.  
“Can I just ask why the hell are you holding my daughter and her friend in protective custody?” 

Raven glances up next from where she’s sat next to Monty in a holding cell to see Sinclair storm into the police station, a positively terrifying look on his face. He’s angry, she can tell that, but he’s also scarily calm.

The officer supervising them splutters. “They were, they were at the riot-”

“Protest,” Sinclair corrects, crossing his arms. " _Peaceful_ protest."

“They were at the protest. They’re being charged with vandalism and-”

“On what basis?” Sinclair asks, interrupting the officer again. “Is there any surveillance evidence?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Any eye-witness reports?”

“Not exactly, no-”

“DNA evidence?”

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to stop interrupting me,” the officer says. She grins, he’s trying to sound intimidating, but she can hear the uncertainty in his voice. “But no, there was no DNA evidence.”

“Then there’s no basis to hold them or charge them,” Sinclair tells the officer, raising his eyebrows and glaring. “So I’ll be taking them both home, now, and you are not going to protest if you don’t want a lawsuit on your door for discrimination and harassment.”

The officer swallows nervously before he nods, standing up on shaky legs. Her grin widens, and she knocks her knees against Monty’s leg, who’s smiling as well. She loves Sinclair so damn much.

 

4.  
“Sinclair,” she says, just able to keep her voice steady. She’s standing a little too straight in the doorway to his office, gnawing on the inside of her cheek nervously. “I uh, I have something to tell you.”

“You’re not pregnant, right?” he says, looking up from his diagrams. His hair is sticking up in every direction and there are at least three pencils behind his ears. “I thought I’d done a sufficient job with the sex talk considering how awkward and long it was for both of us.”

“Of course, I’m not pregnant,” she scoffs. She rolls her eyes, feeling the tension in her shoulders dissipate a bit. “It’s just, I, I’ve been seeing someone and I’d, I’d like you to meet… _her_.”

“Bring her home for dinner, tomorrow, I’ll make meatloaf and you’ll tell me it tastes horrible and we’ll end up ordering Chinese again, how does that sound?”

She blinks. “Great, just, you’re okay with it?”

“Okay with you bringing your girlfriend home for dinner? Of course.”

“No, okay with her, you know, being a _girl_?” she asks dumbly. She was expecting at least a little shock or something.

He raises his eyebrows. “Do you like her?”

“Yeah.”

“And does she treat your right?” he asks and she nods, not trusting her voice. “Then I’m fine. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Slowly, a smile grows on her face, soon almost too big for her face. “I’m happy, I'm really happy.”

 

5.  
She stares at herself in the mirror, the dress just looks wrong on her. It shouldn’t though. It fits perfectly; it hugs her body and it’s just the right length. It would look just fine on anyone else, but it just looks wrong. It’s the fifth one she’s tried on so far and none of them look right.

Frowning, she drags her hand down her face. “I don’t like it, Sinclair. It doesn’t look right.”

“Okay,” her adopted Father says from outside the changing room. She can imagine the worker who had helped her pick out the dresses is frustrated even if Sinclair just sounds neutral. “Was that the last one to try on?”

“Yeah,” she says in a hollow voice. “It just, I don’t know, none of them look right… none of them feel right.” 

“Can we at least see this one?” the worker asks in a tight voice. 

She bites her lip, blinking away tears. This is ridiculous, it’s just a dress. She shakes her head, huffs and opens the curtain, stepping out awkwardly. She only remembers to hike up her dress at the last minute. 

“That looks great,” the worker says, a genuine smile on her face despite how confused she looks by the idea of Raven not liking the dress.

“I just, it doesn’t feel right,” she admits, worry pooling in her stomach. “I know that it looks nice, you know? It does and I, I want to look good for Luna, I really do. I want to be able to say that we were the best-dressed couple at prom and I know that it looks good, but it just, it feels wrong on me.”

Sinclair’s eyes narrow, his face taking the expression it always does when he’s thinking. “Have you considered that maybe it’s not the dress that feels wrong, it’s the idea of dress?”

“I… no.”

He nods. “Are you sure you’re comfortable in a dress?”

“No,” she says, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. “I don’t think I am. I just, I like trousers. They’re easier.”

“Then we’ll find you a tux instead,” Sinclair says, smiling gently at her. “Any preference for color?”

She swallows, the worry in her stomach lessening. “Luna’s dress is green. It has to match.”

Sinclair smiles as he nods. “We can work with that.”

 

+  
“This was a terrible idea,” Sinclair says and Raven’s never seen him look so stressed. “I can’t do this, I can’t. I’m not ready.”

He turns away from the front door, looking ready to give up. She raises her head and plants herself in front of her. “Nope, you are not running away from this. You can do this.”

“Raven,” he says, sounding like he’s the child here. 

“No,” she says and crosses her arms. “Sinclair, you can do this. It’s just a date.”

“I can’t, it’s too early!”

“It’s been ten years since you last went on a date! And over twenty since you were in a long-lasting relationship,” she points out, raising her eyebrows. “You can do this, I know you can. Believe in yourself.”

“Exactly, I don’t know how to date, it’s been years!” he protests and she just huffs. “I can’t believe in myself.”

“You believe in me, right? You always say that you do?”

“Of course, I believe in you.”

“Then believe in the me that believes in you,” she says softly, but firmly. “You can do it, I know you can. She’s going to love you.”

She expects a _you’re right, Raven_ , but instead she watches a few tears fall down Sinclair’s face who wipes his face. He’s smiling even as more tears stream down his face. “What? Why are you crying?”

“Because,” he says, sniffling. “Because you’re my little girl and you’re all grown up.”

“Shut up,” she mutters because if she says anything else, she’ll start crying too. “Shut up… _Dad_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)
> 
>  
> 
> come cry with me on [tumblr](https://cosmo-k-i-d.tumblr.com/%22)  
> 


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